


Catch You With a Cherry on My Tongue

by majesticduxk



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Baking, Bunker Fic, Case Fic, Dean's feelings, Fluff, M/M, Pie, spn!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-04
Updated: 2017-01-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 18:18:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9197678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/majesticduxk/pseuds/majesticduxk
Summary: Dean shows his love by taking care of those around him. And a careless word cuts deep. Luckily, Cas is there to smooth things over.





	

**Author's Note:**

> a/n: this was written as part of the deancas xmas exchange. I wrote this with the aim of the boys feeding each other pie. It didn’t get there the way I expected it to.. 
> 
> Many thanks to my beta for the super speedy edit!

Castiel and Sam were packed. They’d meant to leave yesterday, but Dean’s unexpectedly early and blood covered arrival had put them both off. 

So did Dean’s sudden announcement that he’d found a case, and was ready to solve it. Well, not quite ready, but he’d gotten a job as a short order cook, and he’d have it solved in the week. 

Even better, he’d get to cook pie. 

Castiel wasn’t quite sure how to talk Dean out of it, so he left it to Sam. He wasn’t weak, he told himself. Just… Sam was better at not being swayed by hurt green eyes. 

“Dean, I just don’t think it’s a great idea.”

It was a weak opening sally. But there was still time for Sam to make a recovery. 

“What are you talking about, Sammy? This is the perfect example of a great idea! We go in, we figure out what's killing these people, then we save them. That's pretty much what we do.”

From Dean’s point of view, it was a good argument. Even from his point view, Castiel conceded. This was exactly what they did. Would Sam have a good counter argument?

“But you don’t know how to bake pies,” Sam all but wailed. 

Castiel winced. That was not a good counter argument. And it wasn't even correct. It then took a few moments too long for Sam to appreciate Dean’s slack jawed and hurt expression and by that time Dean had moved past hurt to fury. 

“Look, Dean-”

“No. Just no. I don’t want to hear it, Sam. We’re taking this case. And if you don't want to come along, Cas and I will handle it ourselves." Dean raised his voice over Sam's spluttered interruptions. "And that is fucking _final_.”

Dean's exit left a baleful silences in it's wake. Castiel added his baleful glare so that Sam could realise the full impact of his actions. 

"Oh come on, Cas! You know this is a bad idea."

"I'd already conceded that point, Sam."

"When?"

Oh right. "When we discussed it previously. We both have reservations about Dean and this hunt. And there were so many things you could have said, but you went with it’s a bad idea because Dean can't bake _pie_?"

Running a hand through his hair, Sam glared straight back. "Of course he can! They’re delicious! I just… I choked, ok, Cas. I choked!" Sam all but finished in a wail. 

The two men stared at each for a moment, before Sam's eyes narrowed. 

"Hang on, if you’re so full of the answers, why didn't you jump in and tell him why it was a bad idea?"

Castiel didn't deign to answer as he swept out of the room. 

~o~

“Says I can’t bake, huh.” 

Standing back, Castiel watched as ingredients were thrown into a mixing bowl. There was a freshly baked pie crust cooling on a bench, and Dean was beating up something red and most probably sticky. And delicious.

"Pie! Says I can't bake pie."

The whisk was applied with alacrity. Really, it was a surprise the bowl hadn't shattered under the force of Dean’s fury. 

“Who ate three pieces last time? _Three_! And that was after he said he'd only eat that rabbit food for the next week."

Dean's anger quickly eased into concern. Placing the bowl on the countertop, he spoke to the filling. "He isn't eating enough. How's he gonna keep in top condition if he doesn't feed himself? I know I taught him better than that."

Dean stared at the bowl contents until a vigorous bubbling at the stove drew his attention. And Castiel had to admire his skill - somehow, despite being on the opposite side of the room, Dean made it to the pot before it boiled over the stove top. Perhaps it was a human form of flying, he mused. Dean was definitely graceful in the kitchen. Even the way he added the contents of the bowl to the pot was graceful. So was the way he licked the spoon…

“He’s never complained. Not once. Last time he ate three pieces.”

It was time, Castiel decided, to intervene. Dean's anger was ramping up again, and this had all the hallmarks of a circular conversation. And there was no point in those. They were, after all, circular.

"Dean-" Castiel spoke low, not wanting to surprise the angry man with the hot pot. 

Dean, however, was not surprised. Instead he glowered and dipped the spoon in the pot again. Keeping eye contact with Castiel, he licked the spoon again. 

"Ah. So that little display was for my benefit?"

Making sure nothing was a fire hazard, Dean turned his blazing eyes on Castiel. 

"That, Cas, had nothing to do with you. That was about..." Dean's words dropped off at Castiel's raised eyebrow, but he quickly rallied. "Ok, so maybe the spoon licking was for you, but the rest? That was about a lack of appreciation, trust and goddamn respect! Sam said I can't bake pie! Sam, who can barely make toast! I know how to cook and bake! And don’t you bother to defend him! It’s not like you can boil water. And when, _when_ has anyone ever complained about my pie? It's my fucking specialty! I've tried so many varieties and combinations I've lost count! And neither of you have ever complained-"

"Dean."

"-in fact, you said it was delicious. Last time, and I quote Cas, you went back for more and said it was the best pie you’d ever tasted. And I don't blame you, because it fucking was, so are you now telling me-"

"Dean."

"-that somehow, _somehow_ , my pie is not delicious? Is that what you're trying to tell me? Because why not mention it a damn sight soon-"

" _Dean_."

Castiel didn't raise his voice. He may have let a little of his inner angel creep in, but that was all it took to finally shut Dean up.

"You know I like your pie, Dean. You know I like it when you try new flavours.” Was that a hint of red in Dean’s cheeks? Rather than pursue it, Castiel pushed on. There were more important things to discuss. “And there is nothing wrong with the way you cook, Dean. You are more than adequate.”

Castiel manfully ignored the huffed _fuckin' told you that already_. 

"And Sam did not mean to imply that you were not able to cook."

"Really, Cas? Because he didn’t imply anything, he fucking stated that-"

" _That_ was your worried brother expressing himself poorly."

Castiel could almost see the thoughts sliding over each other in Dean's mind: his annoyance with his brother was still foremost, but other, more common sense thoughts were rising. At least, Castiel hoped that they were. 

"Sam expressed himself poorly..." Dean rolled the sentence on his tongue, tasting the words. 

Sam was the brother who was better with words. Not only that, he was _quick_ , Sam's clever tongue saving them more than once. Next to his brother, Dean felt like his mouth was filled with lead. Sure, he was the better hunter, so it was only fair that Sammy was better at something. But really? It felt good for Sam to be the one to have a foot in his mouth. Kind of made up for him being such a goddamn jerk. 

"You think he made a mistake?"

Cas coughed. "Not... not a mistake. But I do believe he misspoke… Sam has some… familiarity with the case, and instead of telling you that to take another look at the-"

"What’s there to look at? There's some sort of creature at the diner. We just need an in, and I am telling you Cas, that I am on top of this-"

"It’s not just Sam. Dean. I, too, have reservations, Dean. Not about your skill, but about what we're dealing with."

Pursing his lips, Dean looked down. It was an open and shut case, wasn't it? There were six victims, with nothing in common other than they'd eaten at the diner, and they were now dead. 

Ok, not quite open and shut. But when he'd seen the vacancy at the diner, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to check it out, and-

"Sam and I are fairly confident it's a siren."

Dean's head shot up. "You and Sam? You and Sam,Cas? What they hell have you been doing, and why the hell do you think it's a siren?"

"Despite how different each of the victims seems, there were more similarities than you would think.” Cas started listing them off, gripping a new finger with each point. “Each of these people were single. Each had been seen talking flirtatiously to someone before they left. Each was desperately miserable in some aspect of their life."

"And how do you know this?" Did Dean sound like he was accusing Cas? He fucking hoped so, because he was! Dean was no slouch when it came to research, and hadn’t found any of that.

"Because we were there last week, when there were only four victims, and Sam spoke to the families. Admittedly we don't yet know the fifth and sixth, but..."

Dean waved a hand, and Cas fell silent. Chewing on his bottom lip, Dean couldn't help but wonder why they were excluding him. 

“We weren’t excluding you, Dean.."

"Don't read my mind, Cas."

"I'm not. But it's not difficult to guess what you're thinking."

And if Dean hadn't known better, he could have sworn the angel rolled his eyes at him. 

"That was the week you went off to take out a vampire nest alone.”

Ah. There was definitely no eye rolling with that statement. And now Dean was on the back foot. 

“I already apologised for that, and it-”

Cas waved his apology away. “I know. And it will not happen again. I wasn’t bringing it up to make you feel guilty, Dean, but just to explain why Sam and I were somewhere you were not.” Cas heaved a sigh. “We were actually going to return yesterday, but then you came home and needed stitching up, and it fled my mind.”

That was all fair enough. “I don’t understand why Sam said I couldn’t make pie-”

“Do you recall the last time you met a siren?”

Oh. Ouch. Fucking ouch. 

“That was a one off, Cas, I don’t think it means-”

“It means, that Sam reacted to protect you from something you appear to have little defense against.” The words were sharp, but then Cas’s voice softened. “Do not blame your brother, Dean. He loves you very much. As do I.”

Dean took a moment to blush, then stabbed a finger at Cas. “No chick flick moments, Cas. Save those for Samantha.”

But when Dean returned to his baking, it was with a lighter heart. 

~o~

Ultimately Sam had prevailed, and Cas and he had dealt with the siren. Dean had felt a little miffed, but instead of dwelling on it, threw himself into baking a pie that not even his bitchy little brother could complain about. 

It was sitting on the dining room table, the rich scent of cherry and sugar filling the air, when his brother and angel walked through the door. 

Dean was already seated at one end of the table, having distributed three perfect slices of pie. Chin up, arms crossed and brows arched he watched as Sam slunk into his seat. Cas showed no such remorse as he took his seat near to Dean, even sliding his chair across. Dean ignored him for the moment, eyes boring into Sam as he lifted the fork to his mouth. Where it paused. 

“Dean! I can’t eat while you’re staring at me!”

Dean sniffed loudly. “Just want to make sure it’s to your taste, Sammy. Afterall, I’ve been feeding you substandard pie for years, and I know your body is a temple, so…”

Realising he wasn’t going to win, Sam scowled. Dean smirked, and watched as Sam’s fork completed the trip to his mouth, whereupon Sam groaned his appreciation. Swallowing loudly, he glared at Dean. “I already said I was sorry. You know this is delicious.”

Smug satisfaction dripped from Dean’s every pore. “Really? My pie is delicious? So perhaps you’d like to-”

“Dean.”

Shifting in his seat, Dean turned to the angel. “Cas! Not now, I am making Sam eat-”

“Pie. Yes, I know. And I would also like to eat the pie.”

“Uh…” Dean exchanged a look with Sam. “It’s right there in front of you, Cas.”

Cas looked at Dean as if he was stupid. “Is this not a new recipe?”

Dean nodded slowly, before understanding bloomed in his eyes. He shot a quick look at Sam. “Yeah, it is, Cas, but Sam-”

Sam was all sarcastic politeness. “Oh please, don’t change your plans on my behalf.”

When Dean found himself with a lap full of angel, he bet Sam wanted to eat his words. Much better to eat his pie. 

“Ok, Cas.” He brought a forkful to Cas’s lips. “I know I’ve made cherry before, but this is a cherry vanilla combo. It’s pretty sweet-”

“But not as sweet as you, Dean.”

“-ahhh… well… it’s…”

~o~

And that, Sam decided, was his cue to leave. 

But not before snagging another piece of pie.


End file.
